Lanzer`s off-range musings

Stiffening the Vertical Column on the X2 Mill

The X2 mini mill is very handy, but a small mill such as this comes with inherent problem as a mill that weights less than a thousand pounds. The vertical column is made to be adjustable, and the versatility results in a column that is very weak and wobbly. Not to mention that the column inherently leans forward by about 1 degree and there’s no way of adjusting it.

Many talented machinists had already found solutions to help remedy the problem. One of which is to add a support panel on the back which fixes the vertical column to the base of the mill, giving up the mill’s ability to tilt sideways, which I’m happy to give up.

No need for any plans, just picked up a 4 x 12″ X 1/2 piece of steel, and a 2.5 x 6 x 3/4 steel to complete the task. After putting the two pieces together, I bust out the welding machine and welded the pieces together. Not that I needed to, but because I desperately needed more practice with the welder. The welding job was shamefully bad, but my welder is underpowered and so is my experience with it. Can’t complain.

Just need to drill and tap the vertical column after that, very easy, and happy that the cheap tap and die set from HarborFreight worked just fine.
Also added two L shaped support on the side to help with adjusting the tilt of the column. Was able to get the column to be almost perfectly straight afterwards so I’m a happy camper.